Israel’s prime minister has said the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem will now have “full and immediate access” to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, after police earlier prevented him from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass there, the BBC reports.
Benjamin Netanyahu said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who is head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, had been asked not to enter the church out of concern for his safety. He said Iran had repeatedly targeted Jerusalem’s holy sites with ballistic missiles.
The decision to block the cardinal from entering Christianity’s most sacred site had been criticized by several Western nations.
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said it was an “unfortunate overreach” that was “difficult to understand or justify”.
Cardinal Pizzaballa and the Reverend Francesco Ielpo were stopped outside the church believed to be the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, as they were planning to hold a Mass to mark the start of Holy Week, church authorities said.
Cardinal Pizzaballa’s office said it was “the first time in centuries” a Latin Patriarch had been turned away from the holy site on Palm Sunday, which marks Christ’s return to Jerusalem.
He and Rev Ielpo had been “compelled” to turn back from the church, where Christ was also believed to have been buried and subsequently resurrected, it said.
“This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world, who during this week, look to Jerusalem,” a statement from the patriarchate said.
